Shaun Holden

Out of the FA Cup before Halloween again, but the real nightmare was Wrexham ’s performance which was very disappointing, especially for the 571 travelling Reds supporters.

The league is the priority, absolutely, but it doesn’t mean we can’t give the famous FA Cup a really good go and as the weekend’s game played out there was a feeling it came as a somewhat inconvenience to the Reds, who despite a strong unbeaten run going into the match, never got going.

Again, we lacked in the final third and didn’t test Fylde’s goalkeeper. Although Saturday’s opposition were certainly no push-overs, after they scored, Wrexham never really looked like getting back into the game.

The pairing of Sam Wedgbury and Mark Carrington in the middle of the park still fails to impress, as once again the two holding midfielders were often found too far away from the front line when the ball was dropping into an area you’d expect an attacking midfielder to be. And the first-half tactic of “keep finding Jack Mackreth” simply didn’t work.

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There was on big chance for Wrexham in the opening period of the game though, but Scott Boden’s pass found Marcus Kelly’s weaker foot and he blazed over from close range.

It wasn’t a classic contest by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes all you need is a player who is capable of being given one opportunity and taking it – Fylde seem to certainly have that in goalscorer Danny Rowe.

The number of Wrexham supporters who made the journey to Mill Farm was fantastic, but as the final whistle blew there were murmurs of dejection and frustration. They deserved better.

Hopefully, there will be an improvement next season and perhaps, who knows, we will still be in the competition come Bonfire night.

Tony Williams

A new team and venue for us,really easy to get to, and a great Sports bar to watch the dross from Anfield.

These were the positives of another frustrating day following our team.

Dean made a few changes from last week with the only one causing any great concern being Ollie Marx replacing the,presumably not 100%, Shaun Pearson.

Wrexham dominated the first 35 minutes but created only one chance, Marcus Kelly having his shot deflected over after good work by Holdroyd and Bodin.

Soon after this Fylde, who had been totally ineffective offensively, scored from their first threat. A prod forward from Finley to Muldoon who seemed to attract both our central defenders like a magnet, a flick from him to Rowe who, in yards of space, poked it home with ease.

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This produced Fylde’s best period of the match and they had us back pedalling until the break.

Second half and it was the same old,same old, with the Reds having most of the game but creating absolutely nothing resembling a goal scoring threat. Substitutions were made and Rutherford and Wright improved our tempo slightly but by then Fylde’s wing backs had reverted to full backs and they were happy to hold on for the win. Quite frankly it wasn’t too difficult for them !

It is to be hoped we can maintain our league position, because,should we start to drop down the knives really will be out for Dean after this performance.

John Child

Wrexham AFC manager Dean Keates (Image: ALUN ROBERTS - Freelance)

Wrexham are a team that appears to have fallen out of love with the FA Cup after falling at the first hurdle for the third season in a row.

This was a performance that encapsulated all of Wrexham’s deficiencies, bringing back unhappy memories from the opening weeks of the season.

Fylde were in my opinion a poor side, but they did not have to be brilliant to beat a clearly second best Wrexham.

One goal and a poor one to concede at that, where Wrexham were carved apart by a simple square pass, was always going to be enough given how toothless they were in attack. There was just no urgency from Wrexham.

Time and time again passes went backwards and sideways and there was no penetration from the flanks culminating in Wrexham having only a single effort on target in the whole match.

The leadership qualities of Shaun Pearson were also badly missed, coupled with Dean Keates tinkering with the team meant that several players were peripheral figures who had no impact on the proceedings.

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This also serves as a reminder of how small the squad actually is and that the addition of a goalscorer and possibly a creative midfielder are desperately needed.

Whilst it is obviously disappointing to miss out on the potential financial rewards progress in the competition brings, I share the fans’ concerns about the nature of the performance.

However, I would counter that by arguing that this was a competition Wrexham were never going to win and that the league has to take priority, given that Wrexham have a genuine chance of securing promotion this season.

What is certain though is that Wrexham have to perform a lot better in order to secure vital league points and on this showing they will be lucky to return from Dagenham on Saturday with any kind of positive result.